Farm Workers Say, 'Union Yes!'

By Nan Bailey, in the Militant,Vol. 61, no. 28, 25 August, 1997

MATTAWA, Washington - About 1,500 farmworkers,
agricultural warehouse workers, and their supporters marched
and rallied here August 10 under banners and signs in
Spanish that read: "Union Yes!," "An organized worker is a
respected worker," and "Fair wages in the apple industry."

This was the largest of several marches for farmworkers
rights in Washington state this spring and summer. A rally
followed the spirited five-mile march. Several Mexicans and
Chicanos joined the march as it passed through their trailer
park. Speakers included Toma's Villanueva, former president
of the United Farm Workers (UFW) in Washington state. "We
are here to demand respect, dignity, and a better life for
workers and their families," Villanueva said.

Other speakers were Rosario Vicente Caldillo of the UFW
organizing committee in Mattawa; Mari'a Gonza'lez, a worker
at Washington Fruit Warehouse, one of the targets of a
Teamster organizing drive currently underway in the Yakima
valley; state representative Phyllis Kinney; Roberto
Maestras of El Centro de La Raza community center in
Seattle; and Jeff Johnson of the state labor council of the
AFL-CIO.

When UFW organizer Lupe Gamboa asked those assembled
"How many here today are farmworkers?", about a quarter of
the crowd raised their hands. Gonzalo Guille'n, another
speaker, pointed with admiration to the strike against UPS
currently taking place as an example for farmworkers.
Guille'n was a strike activist in 1987, who took part in
activities to support about a dozen strikes by farmworkers
in the Yakima valley that year.

Almost every speaker referred to recent victories for
farmworkers. In June of this year, for example, during the
apple thinning season, unorganized workers at R.T. Perry and
King Fuji Ranch stopped work, set up picket lines, and
called the UFW to join them in demanding a wage increase.
They picketed for a few days while negotiations went on with
the bosses. At both sites strikers scored victories and won
$1 an hour wage increases for the workers.

A central demand of the August 10 rally was raising the
rates apple pickers get paid for every bin of fruit, which
have remained virtually the same for 20 years. Workers are
demanding $15 per bin for red apples, and $20 per bin for
golden and green apples.

Socialist Workers candidates in Seattle, including
Scott Breen running for mayor, Roberta Scherr for city
council, and Chris Rayson for port commissioner joined the
march and rally. They urged solidarity and support for
workers in the Yakima valley, and for Teamsters members
striking UPS.

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